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Background/Objectives: Evidence about the relation between dietary patterns and cardiovascular disease (CVD) is scarce in Middle Eastern countries. This study was performed to examine the association between major dietary patterns and CVD mortality in Iranian adults. Subjects/Methods: This population-based prospective cohort study was conducted among 4834 randomly selected participants aged [greater-than or slanted equal to]35 years from urban and rural areas of central Iran (2001-2009) (the Isfahan Cohort Study). Dietary intakes were assessed using a food frequency questionnaire, and major dietary patterns were identified by means of exploratory factor analysis. Subjects or their next of kin were interviewed biannually looking for possible occurrence of events. Cardiovascular mortality was defined as fatal myocardial infarction, fatal stroke and sudden cardiac death. Results: During the median follow-up of 9.0 years and 50 282 person-years, we found a total of 118 CVD mortalities. Four major dietary patterns were identified: 'Western', 'Mediterranean', 'Animal fat' and 'Fast food'. Adherence to the Mediterranean dietary pattern was protectively associated with CVD mortality, such that those in the highest quartile were 46% (hazard ratio (HR): 0.54; 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.32-0.91; P-value for trend=0.03) less likely to have incident CVD mortality than those in the lowest quartile. Further adjustment for potential confounders strengthened this association (HR: 0.42; 95% CI: 0.19-0.96; P-value for trend=0.02). We found no significant association between adherence to the Western, animal fat and fast food dietary patterns and CVD mortality. Conclusions: Adherence to a Mediterranean dietary pattern was associated with reduced risk for cardiovascular mortality even in a developing country setting., Author(s): N Mohammadifard [sup.1] , M Talaei [sup.1] [sup.2] , M Sadeghi [sup.3] , S Oveisegharan [sup.4] , J Golshahi [sup.5] , A Esmaillzadeh [sup.6] [sup.7] , N Sarrafzadegan [sup.1] [...]

This study concerns the effect of bicrystal spatial orientation on the iron Σ5 boundary under nanoindentation tests. The orientation of the bicrystal is changed relative to the indenter by the parameter "nanoindentation angle" to create dislocation collisions with grain boundary in different directions and to determine the possibility of transmission of these dislocations through the grain boundary. Simulations were carried out for nanoindentation angles between −90° and 90° with a resolution of 18°. Molecular dynamics with EAM atomic potential functions are employed for the simulations. The effect of nanoindentation angle on the crystals Young's modulus, shear stress, hardness, and Poisson's ratio were determined. Due to the periodicity which has been observed in all of the aforementioned quantities of the rotated crystal, analytical equations were extracted by adapting the Fourier series expansion on the calculated data. Some explanations were provided for the dislocation behaviors based on the physics of the problem and also by the results reported in the literature. Simultaneous effects of Poisson's ratio and pile-ups on each other were also investigated and interpreted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Atopic diseases, including asthma and eczema, represent a substantial public health problem in children and adolescents globally; asthma is the commonest chronic disorder of childhood(1). Research suggests that the origins of childhood asthma lie in utero, and several components of the maternal diet during pregnancy have been investigated in relation to atopic outcomes in children. Epidemiological evidence suggests that a higher intake of sugar during pregnancy is associated with a higher risk of childhood asthma and atopy(2 , 3). However, randomised trial evidence supporting such a link is lacking. Aims 1. To examine whether a low glycaemic index (GI) dietary intervention during pregnancy decreases the risk of asthma and eczema in childhood. 2. To assess observationally whether maternal intake of sugar during pregnancy is positively associated with asthma and eczema in childhood. This is a secondary analysis of children from the ROLO trial. Healthy women were randomised to receive an intervention of low GI dietary advice or routine antenatal care from early pregnancy. All women completed a 3-day food diary in each trimester of pregnancy. Estimates of maternal intake of sugar in each trimester were averaged to provide mean intakes during pregnancy. Mothers reported current doctor-diagnosed eczema in their children at 2-years of age (n=271), and current doctor-diagnosed asthma and eczema in their children at 5 (n=357) and 9-11 years (n=391) of age. Multivariable logistic regression models were used a) to test the effect of the intervention on child outcomes overall, and stratified by maternal education level (with, versus without, a complete tertiary level education), and b), in observational analyses, to analyse the relation between sugar and carbohydrate intake in pregnancy and child outcomes. There was weak evidence overall for a reduction in asthma at 5-years of age in children whose mothers received the low GI dietary intervention during pregnancy compared to usual care [adjusted odds ratio (OR) 0.43 (95% CI 0.18, 1.03); P =0.06]. However, in stratified analyses the intervention was associated with a marked reduction in risk of asthma at 5-years of age in children born to mothers with lower educational attainment [adjusted OR 0.16 (0.03, 0.85); P =0.032]. Intake of sugar during pregnancy was positively associated with the development of asthma at any time point in childhood [adjusted OR per quartile of mean sugar intake 1.40 (0.99, 1.97), P -trend=0.048] and at 5-years of age [adjusted OR per quartile 1.55 (1.00, 2.40), P -trend=0.046]. No associations with eczema outcomes were found. This novel study provides stronger evidence that higher sugar intake during pregnancy is associated with an increased risk of asthma among offspring. An intervention to reduce sugar intake in pregnancy may have potential as a primary prevention strategy, particularly amongst children born to mothers with lower educational attainment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim. To investigate anxiety levels in two groups of children exposed to nurses with white vs. coloured clothing in a university hospital in Iran. Background. Hospitalisation causes anxiety in children and it is documented that nurses have an important role in alleviating children's distress and anxiety. Nurses characteristics, including their clothing is a factor that affects quality of care through child-nurse relationship. Design. Clinical trial. Methods. Children ( n = 92) aged 7-15 years old hospitalised for 3-5 days in paediatric surgery ward were exposed to nurses in white or coloured clothing. Children's anxiety was assessed on admission and at discharge using Revised Children's Manifest Anxiety Scale. Results. Children exposed to white nursing uniforms showed higher anxiety levels compared with children exposed to coloured nursing clothing ( p <= 0·05). Besides coloured nursing clothing, female sex, age >11 years old (guidance school) and living in families with more than four members were predictors of lower global anxiety scores. Conclusion. Providing a child-friendly environment through colourful nursing clothing can promote nurses' relationship with hospitalised children. This can satisfy children's expectations of the nursing care and alleviates the need for meeting ideals of nursing care through wearing a white nursing uniform provided that standards of nursing care are favoured. Relevance to clinical practice. Using colourful nursing clothing in paediatric wards reduces anxiety as a psychological parameter which delays improvement and provides a child-friendly environment that helps promotion of quality of nursing care. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Glutamate antagonists such as topiramate have been proposed based on the glutamate hypothesis of schizophrenia because its properties encourage its exploration and possible development as a medication for the treatment of schizophrenia. A randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial was performed on 18- to 45-year-old patients with schizophrenia. Baseline information including vital signs, height, weight, smoking status, demographic characteristics, (past) psychiatric history, medication history and medication-related adverse effects were collected. Patients were randomly assigned to a topiramate or placebo group. Efficacy of medication was measured by administering Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS), and tolerability of treatment was recorded on day 0 (baseline), day 28 and day 56. PANSS values (95% confidence interval) at baseline, day 28 and day 56 in the topiramate group were 96.87 (85.37-108.37), 85.68 (74.67-96.70) and 76.87 (66.06-87.69), respectively; compared with 101.87 (90.37-113.37), 100.31 (89.29-111.32) and 100.56 (89.74-111.37) in the placebo group. General linear model for repeated measures analysis showed that topiramate has lowered PANSS values significantly compared with the placebo group. Similar significant decline patterns were found in all three subscales (negative, positive and psychopathology sign). Clinical response (more than 20% reduction in PANSS) was significantly higher in topiramate-treated subjects than controls (50% vs 12.5%). Topiramate can be an effective medication in controlling schizophrenic symptoms, considering its effect on negative symptoms and controlling antipsychotic-associated weight gain. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

OBJECTIVES: To determine the prevalence of permanent and transient congenital hypothyroidism (CH) in Isfahan, Iran. METHODS: In 256 primarily diagnosed CH patients identified through the neonatal screening programme from May 2002 to February 2005, treatment was discontinued for 4 weeks and T4 and thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH) were measured. Permanent or transient CH was determined from the results of the thyroid function tests and the radiologic findings. Patients with TSH levels >6 (mIU/l) were diagnosed with permanent CH. RESULTS: Results were available from 204 patients, of whom 122 patients were diagnosed with permanent CH (59.8%) (prevalence 1:748 births), and 82 with transient hypothyroidism (prevalence 1:1114). Permanent CH was associated with higher initial TSH levels than transient hypothyroidism (P < 0.05). The most common aetiology of CH was dyshormonogenesis. CONCLUSION: The rates of both permanent and transient CH in our study were higher than the comparable worldwide rates. The transient group had low T4 levels, suggesting that iodine contamination should be investigated. The aetiology of CH was also different from that recorded in many other studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To describe and evaluate the relationship between stress and other lifestyle behaviors. Methods: A cross-sectional study within the context of an Isfahan Healthy Heart Program (IHHP). Demographic details (age, gender, marital status and educational level) and lifestyle variables including diet (fruit and vegetable consumption), smoking status, daily physical activity and psychological distress were recorded. Data were analyzed by t-test, chi[2] and logistic regression. Setting: Central Iranian country of Isfahan, Najaf-Abad and Arak. Participants: Five thousand and eight hundred and ninety-two adults over 19 years of age. Results: Mean age of all participants was 40.5 (15.4) years and 36 per cent of them had high stress levels. High stress levels were negatively associated with fruit and vegetable consumption, non-smoking and marriage. Conversely, the female gender and less than 6 years of education were positively associated with stress levels. Physical activity was not found to be associated with stress. Conclusion: This study demonstrated an association between high stress levels and other unhealthy lifestyle factors. Hence, special attention must be paid to intervention programs aimed at modifying lifestyle and providing education on stress management techniques. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]